Canadian Solar is selling a 70% interest in two solar plants in Brazil with a combined capacity of 738MWp to SPIC Brasil, a subsidiary of State Power Investment Corporation of China (SPIC).
The Marangatu and Panati-Sitiá projects, sized at 446MWp and 292MWp respectively, are located in the Brazilian states of Piauí and Ceará.
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Both are currently at an advanced stage of development and are expected to begin construction later this year and reach commercial operation in late 2023.
Around 75% of the projects’ energy is already committed through long-term power purchase agreements, with the remainder to be sold in the free market.
With the completion of the sale, Canadian Solar will have monetised 2.3GWp of utility-scale solar in Brazil, as it continues to execute its remaining 1.6GWp backlog of contracted PV plants in the country, according to the company’s CEO, Shawn Qu.
The sale comes after Canadian Solar closed a BRL500 million (US$100 million) financing facility last year to develop a Brazilian solar portfolio. It has since sold a 635MWp PV plant in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais to renewables company VTRM Energia Participações.
Qu said Canadian Solar now plans to expand its position across more Latin American markets, including Colombia and Chile.
The manufacturer last month unveiled a new PV manufacturing strategy that will see it develop tens of gigawatts of solar ingot, wafer and cell capacity in the second half of this year at a total capex cost of around US$850 million.
For SPIC Brasil, the acquisition marks its first solar investment in Brazil. Its parent company has a total installed capacity globally of 187GW, including 35GW of solar and 85GW of thermal power.
Other recent developments in Brazil’s solar market saw solar bidders win 166MW of capacity in the country’s latest renewables auction, while oil and gas company Galp is acquiring a 4.6GWp portfolio of under development solar plants in the country.
